Fast-spinning and fabulous Lazy Susan of metal history

Ozzy Osbourne is supported by a who's who of the heavy metal world for his last ever show

- Mark Beaumont

Nothing could be more Sabbath, you might argue, than lording over your own wake. With Ozzy Osbourne dealing with both Parkinson's disease and myriad other health issues, for one final Back to the Beginning extravaganza, Black Sabbath gather around them the ultimate black conclave of demon disciples and jackal-eyed offspring who owe their existence to metal’s revered originators. Each to perform a Sabbath cover in a truncated set of intense heaviosity and pay heartfelt tribute in blood and sweat.

“This is the greatest moment in heavy metal history!” screams Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, the lineup’s sole woman. “We're not here to say goodbye, we’re here to say thank you,” says Scott Ian from Anthrax ahead of a gut-crushing take on Sabbath’s “Into the Void”. Video messages beam in from Billy Idol, Dolly Parton, AC/DC and, to much livestream controversy, Marilyn Manson.

Game of Thrones star and noted metal obsessive Jason Momoa introduces a “heavy metal boot camp” of supergroups, variously including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Extreme guitarists, Faith No More drummers and the day’s musical director, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. An incredible array of hard rock’s biggest acts blitz through 15-minute slots, fret fingers blur, melting faces at oxyacetylene pace and pounding away at the sonic sinkhole that threatens to plunge Birmingham’s Villa Park into the underworld by night’s end.